Total Assets of Conventional Banks Increase to RO28.8 Billion in July

Muscat, The Preliminary data for the Sultanate’s national accounts shows that GDP growth at current prices stood at 6.5 percent during the first quarter of 2018 as against 15.8 percent in the same period of 2017.

The oil prices gained further and the price of Omani crude oil during January-July 2018 averaged at US$65.4 per barrel compared with US$51.6 per barrel during the same period last year. The inflationary pressures in the Sultanate remained generally benign. The average annual inflation rate based on the consumer price index of the Sultanate was about 0.8 percent during January-July 2018 in comparison with 1.8 percent in the same period last year.

The consolidated balance sheet for the banking sector, which includes conventional and Islamic banks and windows (other depository corporations), shows a rise in the credit balance to RO24.3 billion by the end of July 2018, a growth of 6.3 percent over the same period last year. Total credit granted to the private sector increased by 5.4 percent to RO21.7 billion at the end of July 2018.

Total deposits of the banking sector grew by 3.4 percent to RO22.3 billion, with private sector deposits increasing by 2.6 percent to reach RO14.1 billion at the end of July 2018. Sector-wise break-up of total private sector deposits shows that households contributed 49.3 percent, followed by non-financial corporations with 29.9 percent, financial corporations with 18.3 percent, and the other sectors with 2.5 percent.

The total assets of conventional banks increased by 4.8 percent to RO28.8 billion at the end of July 2018 from RO27.5 billion at the end of July 2017. Of the total assets, credit accounted for 72.4 percent, which increased by 4.1 percent to RO20.9 billion at the end of July 2018.

Credit granted to the private sector grew by 2.9 percent to RO18.6 billion at the end of July 2018. In total credit to private sector, the non-financial sector accounted for 46.7 percent, followed by the retail sector � mostly under personal loans � with 44.9 percent, while financial corporations and other sectors accounted for 5.8 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.

On the liabilities side of the conventional banks, total deposits increased by only 1.8 percent from RO18.9 billion at the end of July 2017 to RO19.2 billion at the end of July 2018.